Natural Sweeteners

Annie has caused us to take a good long look at how we eat and what we eat. That’s why we’re on this new path to healthy eating. One of the major changes we’ve made recently is to completely stop buying white sugar. For some reason, Annie’s body reacts to white sugar….and it’s evident when I wash her bottom. She gets yeast infections if she eats just a small amount of the stuff. Yes, I realize that one day when she’s older she’s going to be totally embarrassed that I posted for the whole world to read that she gets butt yeast infections. But, we know this is change we need to make for her and for us.If you do just a little bit of research, you’ll find that the dangers of white sugar are HUGE. I realize that I cannot completely cut it out, because we do live in this world and we do eat out……and visit other people. But, we can cut it out at home.I don’t want to do without sweets. I love them…..really. We’re close friends. And guess what? God doesn’t want us to do without sweets either! Why else would He have given us a taste bud for tasting sweet things? So, don’t worry….this post isn’t going to tell you to give up cake. Life without cake is like Dottie without a fleece blanket. So, I’m going to tell you which sweeteners we use now and give you a little info on each of them.

We’re attempting to eat things as close to the way that God made them as possible. Obviously white sugar doesn’t fit into that category….it’s refined like crazy. Try to avoid white foods as much as possible…..except onions. Onions are fine – onions have layers (name that movie). God mentions honey repeatedly in the Bible. “But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Psalm 81:16 Well, that’s good enough for me. Barry loves honey so he’s happy about this one. If possible, try to buy raw honey that hasn’t been processed or heated. For that, you need to buy directly from a bee keeper. I’ve not found a local bee keeper yet, so I do buy local honey but it’s been heated.(UPDATE: I now have a local bee keeper.) I still think it’s a good step in the right direction. I would get a bee hive myself, but I’m scared of the little boogers. They make me scream like a little girl and run like the wind. Honey is full of many nutrients and digestive enzymes. It’s stinkin’ good on top of hot biscuits. If you’re substituting honey for white sugar in a recipe, you don’t need to use as much. It’s very strong so it will only take about half the amount. Honey substituted in bread instead of sugar is YUMMY!

Sucanat. Yeah, I know most of you are like what? I didn’t have a clue either…..but now I’m using it like crazy. It makes GREAT sweet tea (thanks Stephanie!). You can use it cup for cup like sugar. What is it? It’s dehydrated sugar cane. It’s processed in the traditional way that people of India have used for thousands of years and leaves most of the minerals intact. There are sugars out there labeled as “evaporated” sugar cane, but they aren’t the same. When you dehydrate you’re able to keep most of the minerals….not so with evaporation. I’ve even got my mom using this now. It looks like granulated brown sugar, but it’s not (brown sugar is actually just WHITE sugar with molasses added). Sucanat is pretty easy to find. You can buy it from Bread Beckers or you can find it at Earth Fare. Actually, you would probably find it at any whole foods type of store. I’ve bought it a few times from King’s Produce, so check out any bulk food store to see if they have it.

Real maple syrup is so delicious. No, I’m not talking about that imitation stuff that you buy at the store…..I’m not even talking about my mom’s homemade syrup. I mean the REAL STUFF. The stuff that costs about forty zillion dollars. Yes, it’s expensive. But, it’s worth it. Really. You’ll only use small amounts, so one container should last a while….unless you like floating pancakes. I like Whitetop Mountain syrup and try to buy it whenever I can find it. It works best in liquid recipes, not baking ones. Try to get organic Grade B. Organic Grade B Maple Syrup is better than Grade A as it has more nutrients. Non-organic maple syrups may contain formaldehyde or other synthetic stuff. Yum. Really makes you want to slather it all over those pancakes before you perform an autopsy. Use it sparingly. It’s a treasure to be enjoyed…….and lick your plate because that stuff is liquid gold and you don’t want to waste it!

We’re also using Stevia. However, do not be fooled. Some things label themselves as stevia but they’re not….it’s a LIE. I returned from the grocery store one night with a disgusted look and Barry wanted to know what was wrong…..I was angry because all the stuff in the store is mislabeled. It says STEVIA on the top but there is added sugar and all sorts of what not. Makes me wanna have a citizens arrest, but I can’t arrest a box of sweetener. Stevia is an all natural sweetener, made from the stevia plant…..if you buy the real stuff and NOT the stuff that is labeled as such. Read the ingredients list before you buy. It’s very strong, so you only use small amounts. You can buy the powder or the liquid. I’m trying to find a good recipe to make my own, but that’s still in the works. It can tend to have a bitter taste, so make sure you get some good stuff. It’s been my experience and I’ve heard that Sweet Leaf NuNaturals is one of the best you can buy.

I also use a bit of molasses…..not a lot, because I don’t care much for the flavor. It’s very strong, but it’s very good for us. My mom LOVES molasses cookies and it’s really delicious in gingerbread. Blackstrap molasses is the black waste that’s left over after regular molasses is made. It’s a great source of iron if you’re a vegetarian or a vegan. I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan. Please pass the turkey.So, there ya go. That’s what we’re using now. Yes, they are a bit more expensive…..but I use less. Also, you have to factor in that healthy eating saves you money at the doctor’s office – and we all know how expensive THAT is.

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About Stacy

Stacy is a Home Management Mentor, the author of two cookbooks, the creator of why-didn’t-I-think-of-that homemaking hacks, an expert on making real food taste lip-smacking delicious, and a Platinum Leader with Young Living Essential Oils. She loves butter, dessert, baking, organizing, and staying home with her husband and four hilarious kids. She believes if it's not easy, you won't do it - because she's lived it. She'll bring YOU the awesome so that you can get your home back into control. For tips and easy strategies, you can follow her on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the content above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Comments

i have not made a switch to non-processed white sugar yet, but next time i need a bag, i am going to try the sucarant. i do use dark brown sugar in our oatmeal, at least it has more molasses. haha. and in ALL recipes i reduce the sugar by half from the get-go. if i find it is a bit bland or maybe just not tasty, i will add up to half the remaining sweetener called for in honey. but most things are still plenty sweet with just half the sugar.
and i like the fact my children are learning to like the real flavor of real food and not just crave sugar. my oldest (8) has even realized the relationship between her eating sugary stuff, like a classmate bringing cupcakes to school, and being more hungry just a little while later. and my second oldest (5) realizes that she “goes crazy” when she has that kind of excess sugar….
to me, it’s more than just helping them eat right while growing up but also teaching them the things i have learned in such a way that they will want to continue eating well when they are grown!
and thank you so much for this post and for just saying straight up that it seems the “professionals” appear to simply argue back and forth about what is the right way to eat. it’s crazy and annoying. ha! 🙂

Thank you for this information Stacy! I am in the process of swapping certain pantry items for better ones and this has been a big help. Sucanut seems sooo expensive ($4.63 for 375g online) but I’m hoping I can find better. At the moment, I have been replacing white sugar with raw sugar (in baking and about 3/4 the amount). I think it’s a ‘better’ option until I can purchase something else. Keep up the good work!

Just went to buy my sucanat. 4$ a pound- not too terrible- I also saw barley malt sweetener, the bag says its an extract of sprouted barley. I bought a bag because it intrigued me, does anyone know much about it?

Last year I grew some stevia. I never liked the store bought stevias, but my fresh stevia doesn’t have an aftertaste. I also wonder about how some store bought stevias are processed. Stevia is green, even when dried. White stevia can’t possibly be natural. There has to be some kind of bleaching process. I’m wondering if that’s where the bitter taste comes from?

I would love to grow stevia!!! Is it hard?! Oh…and I should tell you, I have the Black Thumb of Death.
I don’t find that the Sweet Leaf brand has an aftertaste….but a few others I tried were just AWFUL.

I just re-read this post. I think “sweetners” are what we are used to. Meaning when we taste something sweet, we are expecting it to taste a specific, pre-determined way… Like how once people start drinking diet soda, they develop a taste for artificial sweetners. When I was a child, I thought molasses was “blech”, but now I’m slowly developing a like for the deeper flavors such as demerara sugar and so on… Anyway, good to know about the molasses, my oldest child prefers to avoid “meat”, but is concerned about her iron intake. There is a Whole Foods market in Napa and I think I’m going to have to go on a little road trip.

Dianne, it’s been my experience that Rapadura is just the name brand of sucanat. It used to be that something was different between the two, but sucanat is now processed (so they state) the same way that Rapadura is. So, you’ll save $$ by buying the sucanat instead of the name brand.

I found a new sweetener! Raw Coconut Nectar. It’s low glycemic, and apparently more nutritious than maple syrup. Just got some this week. Stuck my finger in it, and it kind of has molasses kind of taste I think…not as strong though. Still trying it out. There is only one store locally that sells it too.

This is really amazing to read…I’m so interested in getting less and less processed stuff and more into natural – but slowly! I’m so used to processed foods, it’s quite crazy, right? But, I agree that too much sugar is terrible. I really should look into the sucanat. My son was on a GFCF diet for 4 1/2 years – he has autism – and we slowly took him off and he’s done fine with “regular” foods but during that time I did see a holistic doctor for him and was/am convinced that food makes a HUGE difference especially in kids with ADD/ADHD type symptoms,etc. Thanks…is the cost of this substantially higher than white sugar?

Ohhhhhh yeah. Bigtime. I’ve found the best deal on sucanat by buying from Bread Beckers. However, you have to also calculate the cost of medical stuff…….eating better cuts down on that.
With honey and sucanat and maple syrup you can use less. I always use 1/2 the amount of honey if it calls for sugar.

I’ve had several questions via email about that one, so here’s what I’ve said about that:
I left agave out because of some things I’ve read about it. We don’t use it in our family, but I know a lot of people do use it.
Here is a paragraph that I read recently about it:

“Agave is deemed as a good, wholesome sweetener by many because it comes from a plant and has a low glycemic index. On the other hand, it’s very high (up to 95%) fructose content can result in some questionable side effects. High fructose corn syrup, by comparison, has 55% fructose. The processing may be done at very high heats, which raw foodists don’t like and can sometimes damage health benefits.
Here is Nourished Kitchen’s take: When Natural Foods Aren’t Natural. She makes a good point that agave was only discovered/invented in the 1990s, so it’s a far cry from a traditional food. If it had been made in a lab, I would not bother with it because it hadn’t been tested long enough. Therefore, personally I don’t use agave because (a) it’s fairly new and untested and (b) there’s enough controversy to make the premium price not worth my budget.”

And that’s why we don’t use it. I’m trying to use more traditional foods. However, I might change my mind later. This is just where I am right now. 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to add your input. It’s not something that I have researched, but I was hoping that you had as part of your current quest. I’m also interested to find out what “baking” sugar the web-site your linked too re: the dangers of raw sugar is going to reveal in the near future.

Great post Stacy. RE the stevia taste, sometimes you can use stevia as a way to use less of another sweetener. E.g. the other day I made something and I used honey in moderation plus a little stevia to give it extra sweetness. I’m still experimenting with this as well. I noticed whole foods had a bunch of liquid flavored stevias in one aisle. I was curious how that would be in coffee.

I have been using Sucanat for the last year…I think it tastes terrible in tea…Sucanat tastes very molassasy..and completely changes the taste of the tea…it makes it cloudy and syrupy too…I use less Sucanat than reg sugar…I think it is more of a 2/3 to 1 cup ratio (using 2/3 in Suc and 1 of sugar). I have grown up on real syrup since I was a babe…I was born in NH…syrup is everywhere! I order mine from a friend…and he charges me $25 for a 1/2 gallon size plus add another $5-7 for shipping…WAY cheaper than you will find in a store down here, even in the Health Food store! I cringe when I see a little glass pint of syrup at the Health Barn for $15!!! Stacy, if you want my friends name and number, email me and I can give it to you. He is just a private guy making and selling, he may still have some left to sell…this was good winter for syrup..if he is out, he can direct you to one of his syrup friends. He makes both Grade A and B. I prefer Grade A medium….there are not those differences in the store..there is dark, med, and light all in Grade A…dark is very close to grade B, but B does have “bits” in it too. I recommend you contact the BeeKeepers Association..there is one that meets here in Boones Creek..they can prob tell you who sells honey close to you..buying within a 20 mile radius is best for the most benefit..the closer the better though. OK..so sorry about the book here! I very much enjoy your blog!

Gretchen, my whole family likes the sucanat in tea. 🙂 It must be personal preference. Barry loves it! I will contact you about the syrup. That’s a great deal. Thanks!!! 🙂
Thank you for the informative post and kind words.

Thank you for your post! I’ve been using turbinado sugar for years, but after reading your blog I took the plunge and bought a bag of Sucanat. All I can say is wow! As soon as I opened the bag, the smell of molasses exploded into my kitchen! It was amazing! I opened my bag of turbinado to compare, but it was no match. The crystals were pale and nearly odorless by comparison. Even my dad (who has virtually no sense of smell) noticed a big difference. I’m baking my first Sucanat dish right now and expecting great results – thank you for this experience!

Love stevia, but it can be difficult to find the right brand for your taste buds. I also use applemint in with the black tea…and fresh ginger when I make green tea. Also by the gallon, can you tell we are big tea drinkers?? Kroger so far, is only store I have found green tea in larger (100 bags) pkgs, and good price (even better when they run it on sale!)

I have experimented w/stevia for ages, even grew my own! The best tasting & best value I found is NOW Brand White stevia. You can find it online best price, usually Amazon or eBay. A pound sounds pricey, but it lasts us for about 18 months. We use 3/4 tsp stevia to sweeten a gallon of ice tea vs 3/4 cup sugar…and never miss the sugar!

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